Broken Playthings
by MysticQ
Summary: Red works as a personal guard for Princess Zelda. When she receives a letter summoning her to a castle where many have gone missing, she sends Red in her place, disguised as herself, to see if he can find the missing people. There, the witch's curse traps him in the body of a doll. To achieve freedom and break the curse, he must work together with the other toys, or die trying.


Author's Note: Well, this is one of my more... Strange ideas. Hopefully you'll all like it, though. I'm not quite sure where the idea came from, but I'm just gonna go with it and see how things turn out. That being said, on with the fanfiction!

Disclaimer: Are these actually necessary?

/OO/

The ticking of a clock was the only sound in the room. The source of the ticking was not, however, the only thing in the room. The floor of the room was made of white marble, which was covered in black rugs with intricate white floral designs. A cherry wood dresser sat to the left of a large bed in the center of the room, lavishly decorated in silk pillows and a thick black comforter. Glass cases lined the east wall of the room, each one housing rows of toys. The toys ranged from dolls to toy soldiers to simple rubber balls. There were even a few wooden animals amongst the toys. The eyes of the toys stared straight ahead, all of them seemingly locked onto the back of a grand chair directly in front of the room's only window.

The chair was ornately carved, the back of it extending a good two feet past what was necessary. It was made of a dark wood, nearly black in color. Each of its four legs ended in a claw-like design. The seat was cushioned by plush red velvet, and currently occupied by the only living, free individual that resided within the room.

Sitting in the chair was a tall woman with snow white hair cut in choppy layers that fell to the middle of her back. Bangs just barely reached her thin eyebrows, lightly tickling her skin. She wore a floor-length dress of a deep blood red color, with long ruffled sleeves that ended in white lace cuffs. Faint, rust-colored stains dotted the lace. Her legs were covered up to her knees in black, lacy boots with three-inch heels, one crossed over the other. One of her hand made held a wooden toy horse while the other lightly stroked it from its head to the base of its tail. Her long, sharp nails gently brushed over the wood as her coal black eyes gazed out the window. "Things have gotten rather dull around here," she said in a deep, rich voice befitting a noble, turning her eyes to the wooden horse she held. "Wouldn't you say?"

The wooden horse in the woman's hand said nothing, its small black eyes faintly shining in the light from the setting sun. The woman chuckled, lightly tapping a small crack on the back of the wooden horse. "You see, that's just what I mean," she said. "You're too well-behaved. I need something new to break in." She turned her head back to the window, a smirk curving her pale lips as her eyes landed on the castle far in the distance. "Something... Royal."

/OO/

A tired sigh left the lips of the castle gate guard on night duty, which shortly after formed a scowl aimed at his feet as he crossed his arms over his chest. He honestly hated his job, more so tonight with his partner out sick. David was the one thing that kept his thoughts from travelling down a dark path with jokes and a seemingly endless supply of optimism and smiles. He was the reason that he didn't dread coming to work every night. Well, he didn't dread it as much as he used to, at least. He had no family to come home to at the end of his shift, and no pets to keep him company, either. By nature, he wasn't a very sociable person, and didn't have many friends to speak of. Actually, the word 'many' was a bit of an exaggeration. He didn't have any friends.

Other than his boss, David was really the only person he talked to.

From the darkness, the sound of wheels and hooves on stone reached his ears, breaking him out of his thoughts and causing him to stand at attention. His arms snapped to his sides, his back straightened, and the scowl on his face changed to a more neutral, albeit curious, expression. He didn't remember his boss saying anything about a visitor for the princess to look for, so who the hell would be coming to the castle at this time of night?

After a few moments, two horses pulling a carriage that seemed to blend into the night could be seen with the light of the two torches on either side of the castle gate. The horses pulling the carriage each had sleek black fur with white hair around their hooves, and were oddly silent, save for the sound of their hooves on the cobblestone path. What he found most odd, though, was that there was no one sitting on the box seat to direct the horses. The creatures seemed to know the path they had to travel without needing any commands, and while this was certainly impressive, it somehow left him feeling unsettled.

With no given command, the horses began slowing down upon nearing the gate. The two stopped at exactly the same time a few feet from him, and he swallowed nervously before slowly making his way around to the carriage. The door opened a crack, and he paused for a moment, his gray eyes looking at the intricate vine pattern running all across the carriage. Looking closer revealed that the vines were covered in thorns.

A female's voice spoke to him, one that had a deep, rich quality to it, and startled him out of his observation. "I've come for an audience with the princess," the woman inside the carriage said. "I do hope you won't refuse me. I have traveled ever so far to get here, and I'd hate to return home empty-handed."

"I... I'm sorry, ma'am," the guard said slowly, trying to peer inside the carriage to get a glimpse of the woman who was talking. "The princess isn't expecting any visitors tonight, and we have a policy of not letting in any strangers after dark." Try as he might, he just couldn't make out anything other than complete darkness through that sliver of an opening. The more he looked at it, the more it appeared like the inside of the carriage was some kind of endless void that absorbed all light.

"Oh, now that IS a shame," the woman inside the carriage said. "I'd so been looking forward to meeting your princess of light. Can you at least do me a favor?" The faint sound of fabric rustling and paper moving was heard by the guard before the carriage door opened a bit wider, an arm covered by a black sleeve that ended just above a pale hand extending a letter out towards him. "What is your name, sir?" the woman asked.

"My name is Sean," the guard answered, looking warily at the letter held by a hand with long, sharp nails. _'So there really is someone inside there,'_ he thought.

"Sean," the woman repeated. "Charming. Could you deliver this letter to the princess for me? After coming all this way, I feel that this is the very least you could do for me."

Sean eyed the letter for a few moments, considering the woman's words, then hesitantly reached out a hand for it. "Alright," he said, grabbing onto the edge of the letter. "I'll make sure this gets to her." He might be unable to let a stranger into the castle, but doing such a simple service was certainly within his power.

"Many thanks," the woman said, a hint of a devious tone in her voice, before her hand retreated into the carriage, and the carriage's door shut firmly. The horses began turning to their left, causing Sean to back away towards the gate. As he watched, the horses walked around the side of the carriage, then began lightly trotting, pulling the carriage back the way they'd come. Sean watched until they disappeared from sight, waiting even longer until he could no longer hear them, then sighed in relief and glanced down at the letter he held.

It was a simple white letter, the candle wax seal on it blood red and in the shape of a rose. Shaking his head, he pocketed the letter and went back to his post, deciding that the letter could wait until morning. "So much for a boring night," he muttered into the chilly night air.

/OO/

Author's Note: Alright, that's one chapter down! I'm really excited to write this story, and I hope that you guys will be just as excited to read it. Please leave a review below telling me all your thoughts, and if you noticed any mistakes or inconsistencies, even if they're small, let me know. I want my writing to be as professional as possible. Well, until next time!


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